crowded
Americanadjective
-
filled to excess; packed.
-
filled with a crowd.
crowded streets.
-
uncomfortably close together.
crowded passengers on a bus.
Other Word Forms
- crowdedly adverb
- overcrowded adjective
- overcrowdedly adverb
- overcrowdedness noun
- uncrowded adjective
Etymology
Origin of crowded
Explanation
Places that are crowded are packed with people. During rush hour, you might decide not to get onto a crowded subway car, but wait for the next one, hoping it will be less crowded. Rock concerts are often crowded, and sometimes classrooms are so crowded with students that it makes the teacher's job harder. Tokyo is a crowded city, especially compared to Dubuque, Iowa, and shopping malls generally become crowded on the weekend before Christmas. These places are all crowded with people, but you could also say that a field is crowded with cows or your friend's house is crowded with cats. The Old English root is crudan, "to press."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Liu noted that she has long been interested in designing safer and more efficient crowded spaces.
From Science Daily • Apr. 15, 2026
She described a crowded room, with people coughing, or receiving positive Covid tests, as feeling like a "death sentence" for her daughter.
From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026
BofA said that fund managers pointed to oil and semiconductors as the most crowded trades.
From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026
The progressive art dealer Jos Hessel and his wife entertain guests in a rather crowded, patchy image.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026
The room was crowded, bodies pressed in on me from all sides, and the air had an angry hum that reminded me of a beehive I’d accidentally hit with my baseball when I was nine.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
